crops

The winter that just won't quit has one more punch for the nation's Heartland — a cold front bringing a brief return to sub-freezing weather, creating concerns for growers of apples, peaches, grapes and other fruit.

The government shutdown is creating a backlog of chemicals needed to produce the steady supply of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides American farmers count on to keep pests from destroying their crops.

Insect scientists say biotech corn is losing its ability to fend off a major insect pest known as the corn rootworm. The scientists say continued widespread use of genetically-modified corn will only make the problem worse.